Water polo standout Hayley McKelvey is among 13 players named to the national women’s team that is heading to Brazil in less than two weeks for UANA Cup.
The six-day competition in Sao Paulo — between Canada, Brazil and Cuba — will offer two spots into the 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships, slated for July in Gwangju, South Korea.
“Our main objective at this UANA Cup is to qualify for the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju next summer. Our team will include a selection of senior and junior athletes training in Canada, NCAA athletes and girls playing in Italy’s Serie A.” mentioned David Paradelo, women’s national team head coach.
“This tournament is an opportunity to come together as a team and to consolidate the skills we developed last summer and during our training camp in the fall.”
McKelvey, 23, was a dominant youth player with the Vancouver-based Pacific Storm before taking her career to the NCAA level at USC — winning a national championship in 2016. The Seaquam Secondary graduate is the youngest player ever from BC to suit up for the senior national team. She did that when she was just 16.
Coquitlam’s Jaiden Miller is the lone other BC player on the Canadian roster headed to Brazil that also features six players from Quebec, two from Ontario and one from Alberta.
